Virgil van Dijk has been warned he would face a battle to force his way into Chelsea’s first-team.
The Dutch defender wants to leave Southampton after spending two years at St Mary’s and handed in a transfer request in the summer.
A host of clubs expressed interest in signing Van Dijk but the Saints were able to rebuff any approaches to retain his services for the time being.
The 26-year-old admitted last week he’s still open to leaving in January but a move to Chelsea may not be productive for his career, according to Graeme Le Saux.
The former England left-back, who played over 150 games for Chelsea, told Starsport: ‘If Chelsea are to carry on with playing a back three then they need top quality players in those positions but [Gary] Cahill, [David] Luiz and [Cesar] Azpilicueta are all having decent seasons so far.
‘In addition, [Andreas] Christensen has done well having come through the ranks so I think Van Dijk would have quite the fight on his hands in trying to displace those players from the starting XI.
‘The bigger issue for me is the need for a strong back-up option to Marcos Alonso.’
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea have endured a mixed start to the Premier League season, winning four games but falling to defeats against Burnley and most recently, Manchester City.
The Blues, who won the title by seven points last term, return to league action on Saturday with a trip to Crystal Palace. Roy Hodgson’s struggling side are yet to earn a point or score a goal in the English top-flight.
The Eagles have at least been handed a boost with the news N’Golo Kante and Alvaro Morata will likely miss the clash at Selhurst Park.
Summer signing Morata suffered a hamstring strain during the 1-0 defeat to City while PFA Player of the Year Kante pulled up at the weekend while playing for France.
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